Well Connected
by suburbs
Summary: Shane, Jason and Nate discuss their lives. Part of the Naptime series.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock._

_A/N: I had the idea for this story awhile ago, but it seemed so random and odd that I didn't do it. Then LittleRedOne asked for a friendship fic about the three guys, so I figured I would write it for her. It makes reference to several other stories in the series, but you don't have to have read them to understand it. I meant to have someone beta this, but I was so excited the site was working again, I am just posting it.  
_

Nate sat in his music room, fiddling with his guitar, but not really playing anything in particular. He looked up at his two best friends and band mates. He wanted to bring up something that had been bothering him, but he wasn't sure how they would take it.

Finally he cleared his throat and spoke up. "Have you guys ever thought about what you would do if we weren't Connect Three anymore?"

"What?" Jason exclaimed.

"I'm not quitting or anything," Nate said quickly, "I was just wondering."

The room was silent for a moment before Shane finally said, "Oh, thank god! I thought I was the only one."

Nate looked surprised; out of all of them, Shane had always seemed to be the one whose identify was most closely tied to being a rockstar. He had expected Shane to feel disappointed or betrayed that Nate would even mention the idea of ending the group.

"I've been thinking about it too," Jason admitted. "Since Zachary was born."

"I love playing music, but the idea of leaving Mitchie and Faith to go on tour kills me. I don't know how you did it, Nate." Shane added.

Jason nodded, "We totally didn't give you enough credit for that."

Nate sighed. He had avoided talking with his friends about it when the girls were little because he knew there was no way they would understand. "It was tough. I missed out on a lot, and sometimes Caitlyn still throws that in my face."

Shane laughed, "Remember that time with the dirty diaper and the baby powder? I think you had the florist on speed dial for a month after that."

"A month? I think it was more like a year," Jason joked. "Every time we had to leave town one them got sick or some disaster happened."

"Or both. Remember when Annabelle kissed that hot light bulb and burned her lips? And then Melody got the flu and threw up for two straight days?" Nate said chuckling. "I thought Caitlyn was going to lose it."

"Did you ever figure out why Annabelle kissed the light bulb?" Shane asked shuttering a little at the memory.

Nate shrugged. "She was three. She never gave us a reason, but she certainly never did it again."

The three men sat quietly, each thinking about their lives.

"The local community center is looking to start giving free music lessons to under-privileged kids," Jason said. "They asked me if I would be interested in running the guitar program."

"Wow, Jason. That's awesome!" Nate replied. "What did you say?"

Jason adored kids and he had always enjoyed sharing his love of music with them; it would be a perfect fit for him. But it was not something you could do with their crazy schedule.

"That I'd think about it. I wasn't sure what our plans were," he said shrugging. "I was thinking it would keep me involved in music, but I would still have lots of time to spend with Zachary and your girls."

Shane spoke up next. "Mitchie wants to head back into the studio; she had a lot of time to write on bed rest, but she won't do it if she has to leave Faith with a nanny fulltime."

Nate and Jason stared at Shane, trying to figure out if he was saying what it sounded like he was saying. Was Shane Gray considering being a stay-at-home dad?

"What?" Shane said defensively. "I'm not saying I'm giving up music for good to take care of a baby, but Mitchie didn't write or play during the miscarriages. I want her to sing again, and if it means changing some diapers, I'll do it."

Jason grinned at Shane, "I totally want to hug you right now, but we're sitting so I won't."

Shane looked relieved. "What about you, Nate? What's got you thinking about retiring?"

Nate sighed. "Remember that life-plan I made before Caity and I got married?" The two men nodded. "I always wanted three kids, but Caitlyn is really enjoying working again and won't even talk about it. I mean, she put everything on hold for the girls, so I thought maybe if I was willing to give something up this time she might consider it."

Once again the music room fell silent.

"Are we really talking about it?" Jason asked. "Ending Connect Three?"

"Do we have to end it?" Shane asked. "Can't we just take a break for awhile?"

"I'm not sure it works like that," Nate replied. "There's a certain amount of momentum in this industry – cycles and trends. If we wait too long, it'll be like starting all over again."

Shane and Jason digested what Nate said.

"But we've had a good run," Nate continued. "I have no problem walking away now, while we're still on top. Better than someone else making that decision for us."

"Will we have any problems with the label?" Shane asked.

Nate shook his head, "I always made sure we could walk away if we wanted to."

Jason grinned at Nate. "You're the best, Nate! I know we gave you a hard time, but Shane and I would probably have ended up bankrupt without you looking out for us."

"Thanks, Jason," Nate said gruffly.

"Yeah," Shane added. "It's a good thing you're honest, too. Otherwise you could be on some sandy beach somewhere with all our money. I'm not sure I ever actually read any of that business stuff you sent us."

Nate groaned. "Don't tell me that. All that time I spent trying to explain everything to you two, and you never read my memos?"

"Did you actually expect us to?" Shane asked incredulously.

"Why else would I give them to you?"

"To show us how much smarter you were than us," Shane stated as if it were obvious.

Jason stood suddenly and blurted out, "I'm going to miss this!"

"What?" Shane and Nate asked at the same time.

"Us," Jason said simply. "Connect Three. The Three Amigos. The Three Musketeers…"

Nate cut him off before he listed every trio in history. "Jason, we'll still see each other all the time. Nothing could change that."

"You're stuck with us," Shane added.

Jason's eyes filled with tears as he looked at his best friends. "Group hug?"

Nate rolled his eyes and Shane grumbled a little, but they both stood up and let Jason envelope them in a giant bear hug.

"Is this what you guys do when you're alone in here?"

The three men broke apart and turned to find Annabelle standing in the doorway smiling at them.

"Not usually," Nate told his daughter. "This was a special occasion."

"Oh," she replied. "Uncle Jason need a group hug?"

"Something like that," her father responded.

"Can I have one too?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure, Annie-bird," Jason said.

"Do I have to?" Shane pouted. "I have a strict one-group-hug-per-day policy."

"For me, Uncle Shane," Annabelle begged. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist. He might whine a lot, but he was a big push-over when it came down to it.

"Fine. But just one. And don't tell anyone."

Annabelle bounded over to Shane and put her arms up in the air for him to pick her up. A moment later, he found himself holding his "niece" surrounded by his two best friends in another group hug. He would never admit it, but he sort of enjoyed it. Because no matter what happened, they were his family.

_Second A/N: If you have never read any of my other fics, this story references Five Year Plan (Nate's life plan), Naptime (baby powder and dirty diaper), A Friend in Need/Waiting (Mitchie's miscarriage and Faith), Behavior Lesson (Caitlyn going back to work), and Uncle Jason (Zachary and Annie-bird). _


End file.
